2 cups Flour
2 cups Cornmeal (which or yellow but we prefer yellow)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

STEP TWO: STIR INTO ABOVE MIXED INGREDIENTS:

1-1/2 cups Buttermilk
2 eggs (well beaten first)

STEP THREE:  BEAT BRISKLY ONE MINUTE.  THEN STIR IN:

1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup corn (or Mexican Corn which we prefer because it has other yummy little ingredients)

STEP FOUR: BAKE AT 425 degrees for 30 minutes

Drizzle with Honey, or serve with Chili or Bean Soup.
Serves 8.

  BAGELS
  Making bagels - yes, your own actual bagels...we aren't just talking toasting your own here...is very satisfying, gives you total flexibility as to the flavors your family likes, and demystifies a process that is really quite unique. And they are the freshest bagels you can find (unless you live in Miami or New York and have a bagel shop on the corner). There is NO comparison to these by those frozen varieties in the supermarket.  Give it a try.  Of course, after you make your own bagels you will also want to make a variety of cream cheese flavors to use with them.  :)

INGREDIENTS:

1 package dry yeast combined with 1/4 cup warm water and 1 teaspoon sugar  (stir and let stand to proof)
1 cup lukewarm water
1 whole egg (or 2 yolks if you want egg bagels) These should be room temperature so you don't kill the yeast
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup melted butter (yes, I said butter...if you are a fat fanatic, make your own substitution)
4-1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour (or flour mixture of your choice for bagel varieties)

PROCEDURE:

STEP ONE:

Mix together all ingredients except flour.  Then add flour about 1 cup at a time, until you have a medium dough that doesn't stick to your hands during kneading.  If you like your bagels chewier, then add more flour...the less flour, the more tender.  You can now knead the dough for several minutes on a pastry cloth or you could do the entire mixing and kneading process in a bread machine if you have one.  When keading, by you or the machine, is finished turn the dough ball into a 7" greased bowl (I grease mine with butter, yes butter) and brush the top of the dough ball with melted butter.  Cover it with a towel, put into a nice warm place and let it double in size.  Actually if you are using a machine, let it stay in there until the second kneading is done.  When the dough is double, punch it down and re-knead for one minute, then let it rise again about 20 minutes. 

STEP TWO

After the second rising, cut the dough into 12 equal pieces.  Roll these pieces into 10-inch snakes on an unfloured surface letting ends taper VERY slightly.  Then dip your finger in water and wet one inch of each end with your wet finger, making rings overlapping ends one inch.  Press these ends together VERY well (or they will come apart and you will have snakes, not bagels).   Preheat the oven NOW to 375 degrees, as the bagels should be baked immediately following the next step.

STEP 3:

Place the bagel rings on an unfloured towel to rise for 10 to 15 minutes.  Meanwhile bring water to a boil in a 12" skillet.  After the bagels rise, lower each one carefully into the boiling water   and SIMMER for 1 minute on each side, then lift them out of water with a flat spatula, placing them wetter side up on some paper towels to absorb the extra water.  

STEP 4:

Bake the bagels, placing them carefully with both hands, onto a 12" x 18" baking sheet (well greased) for 30 minutes, or until brown and crisp.  To give them a nice shine, brush them several times after the first 15 minutes of baking with hot water.  For very crusty bagels, allow them to remain in oven, with heat shut off and oven door partially open about 20 minutes after baking. 

Making Flavor Varieties:

For Bagels topped with things like Caraway Seed, Poppyseed, Sesame Seed, or Sea/Kosher Salt just brush bagels before baking with egg yolk diluted with 1 Tablespoon water and then sprinkled with the topping of your choice.  For Bagels flavored throughout like Sun Dried Tomato, Garlic, Onion, Blueberry, Banana Nut or any combination  thereof, add the appropriate ingredients between the first and second risings.  Have fun!

SOFT PRETZELS

Make bagel dough, above.  After second rising, remove dough to floured surface.  If too sticky, knead in additional flour for easier handling.  Divide into 12 pieces, rolling each into a 16" snake this time. On greased large baking sheet, curve each rope to form circle, ends over bottom of circle.
 
Brush tops with egg and springle with the topping of your choice.  Sea/Kosher Salt is the most common, but you can use any of the bagel topping for pretzels too.   Bake at 400F for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.  Serve warm with Mustard!!

JORDAN MARSH BLUEBERRY MUFFINS   

For those of you up North, Jordan Marsh is a department store in Orlando, with an excellent gourmet restaurant and food outlet.   You can make this summertime treat any time of the year because blueberries are such a total breeze to freeze...just put the pint box in a zip lock freezer bag and they freeze nicely for up to a year.  Come to think of it, you could likely do that with fresh blackberries at the beginning of summer and use those as well, but I haven't tried it.  If you didn't think ahead, just use frozen blueberries from your grocer's freezer.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 18 muffin pan cups with paper liners.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder         Combine in Bowl #1
1/2 teaspoon salt

2-1/2 cups blueberries                 Toss with 2 Tablespoons of the flour, then crush about 1/2 cup of                                                             the berries

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs (ROOM temperature)
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

PROCEDURE:

Beat butter and 1 cup sugar in large mixing bowl (#2) til fluffy.  Beat in eggs (1 at a time). Add alternately, first some flour mix, then some milk and vanilla, then flour mix and so on.  Fold berries into this batter.   Spoon carefully into muffin liners and then sprinkle tops with 2 Tablespoons sugar.   Bake 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks (or eat HOT!)

The Bad News: Each muffin contains: 170 calories, 3 grams protein, 6 grams fat, 26 carbos, 38 mg cholesterol, 172 mg sodium. 

ITALIAN RUSTICA BREAD

Tuscan bread is the sort of robust, crusty bread you eat with stews and hearty soups, and which is most missed in the south - the land of mushy soft bread.  I use this as a substitute for what I remember from New Jersey, where I could go on a bread only eating binge that might last forever.  This one uses a starter, which means you need to plan ahead to at least the day before to make it.

STARTER:
1 Package active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110-115 degrees is the ideal temp for activating yeast)
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
Place yeast and water in a small bowl til it proofs (gets foamy) about 10minutes, then add flour and mix well. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and allow it to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 24 hours.

THE NEXT DAY
1 package active dry yeast
1-1/4 cups warm water (as above)
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Cornmeal for the baker's peel and baking stone
the Starter above
In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup of the water and let it proof.  Add the remaining 1 cup water, then add the sponge and mix it well with your hands.  Add about 3-1/2 cups of the flour and mix well then add as much of the rest of the flour as you need to make a soft dough.  Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth.  Put the dough into a greased bowl, set it into a warm place to rise for about 3-4 hours, or until doubled.  Turn it out onto a floured surface and form the bread gently into a round or oval loaf.  Place the loaf on a baker's peel that is pre-dusted with cornmeal, and set it aside again to rise for about 35 minutes, until double again. 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Set the bread on the stone inside the oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the bread is browned and the bottom crust is hard.  If done, it should sound hollow when you tap it.